US patrol spots Chinese, Russian naval ships off Alaskan island

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A US Coast Guard vessel on routine patrol in the Bering Sea off Alaska has reported an encounter with a Chinese guided missile cruiser which was later discovered to be traveling with two other Chinese naval vessels and four Russian Navy ships.

The Renhai CG 101 missile cruiser was observed some 138km (86 miles) north of Alaska’s Kiska Island by the US Coast Guard Cutter Kimball while on a routine patrol on September 19, the coast guard said in a statement on Monday.

Two other Chinese naval vessels and four Russian ships, including a destroyer, were later observed moving “in a single formation with the Renhai as a combined surface action group operating in the US Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)”, the Coast Guard said.

The Hawaii-based Kimball, a 127-meter (418-foot) vessel, said the Chinese and Russian ships later broke their action group formation – which is an arrangement for tactical missions – and dispersed.

The US Coast Guard said in the statement that the Kimball was now operating under the guidelines of Operation Frontier Sentinel, which designates matching “presence with presence” when it comes to “strategic competitors” who are operating in and around US waters.

A US C-130 Hercules aircraft had provided air support for the Kimball from the Coast Guard station in Kodiak, Alaska.

 

Agencies

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